Methods of making wall and ceiling tile



Aug.' 12, 1958A c. M. PAGE 2,847,046

- METHODS oF MAKING WALL AND gEILING TILE original` Filed Nov. 29, 195o-2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

TTORWE Y Aug. l2, 1.958 c. M. PAGE METHODS OF' MAKING WALL AND CEILINGTILE Original Filed Nov. 29. 1950 Afro/aver METHODS OF MAKING WALL ANDCEILING TILE Chester M. Page, Cresskill, N. J.

Original application November 29, 1950, Serial No. 198,106, now PatentNo. 2,694,233, dated November 16, 1954. Divided and this applicationAugust 24, 1954, Serial No. 451,779

Claims. (Cl. 144-309) for use as surfacing of a wall or ceiling. Theyrequire nishes in the form of paint, varnish, and the like, and may ormay not be clean or waterproof. The tile contemplated by the presentinvention is provided with a covering which has a permanent surface andcan be readily cleaned, whereby it is possible to obtain the advantagesof cheapness of basic material, retain sound absorbing properties, andavoid the necessity of future finishing.

The tile blanks may have sides at right angles to the faces and may bebeveled or not, or they may have interlocking tongues and grooves andbeveled edges. While the blocks are typically rectangular so that theymay be assembled in right angled patterns, they may be of otherpolygonal forms such as triangles, hexagons, etc.

According to the present'invention at least two and preferably all sidesof the blank are provided with narrow slots (or slits) extendingtherealong parallel with the front face of the tile. These slots haverelatively rough walls so as to frictionally grip the covering materialwhen it is forced into them.

The covering material employed is opaque, tough plastic sheeting, suchas sheet vinyl, and it extends over the entire front face of the blankand back over the portions of the sides of the blank in front of theslots and is doubled over onto itself and forced into the slots so thattwo plies of the sheet material ll the slots and are frictionallygripped by the side walls. in this manner the covering is so firmlysecured that application to the covering over the face of the blank offorces likely to be encountered in its use will not remove the doublededges from the slots. This is accomplished without the use of adhesiveswhich would require time to cure, or dry, and without the use of staplesor other mechanical securing devices which would not satisfactorily holdthe covering in place in the softer forms of material. Although thecovering is securely held for all usual and normal purposes, one canreadily remove it along an edge when it is desired to cut down the sizeof a tile so as to fit into a smaller space.

This application is a division of my application Serial Number 198,106,filed November 29, 1950, now Patent Number 2,694,233, dated November 16,1954.

Other and further objects of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds.

The accompanying drawings show, for purposes of illustrating the presentinvention, two forms in which the invention may be embodied, togetherwith the method of making the tile blanks and the completed tile units,it being understood that the drawings are illustrative of the inventionrather than limiting the same.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the positioning of the sawsused in cutting the tile blanks from the board-like material;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an arrangement of saws;

Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are views illustrating the successive steps insevering a large sheet into two blanks;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the cutting of the slots intothe blanks such as formed in Figures l-6;

Fig. 8 is a view to illustrate the shape of the covering sheet and itssize relative to the tile blank to be covered;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the disposition of thecovering sheet and the tile blank in the open assembling machinepreliminary to the securement of the sheet to the blank;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 9 showingthe machine closed;

Fig. ll is a fragmentary top plan view of the same, also showing in dotand dash lines the inner position of the tools used for forcing themargins of the covering sheet into place;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Figure l0 showing the posi tion of thetools corresponding to the dot and dash lines of Figure 11;

Figure 13 is a cross sectional view at an enlarged scale showing twoabutting tile units such as made by the process showing in Figures l to12 inclusive;

Fig. 14 is a perspective view illustrating a corner of the tile blankand a fragment of the covering having part of the margin in place in theslot;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary View illustrating the relation of slot width tothickness of the doubled covering sheet;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a corner showing the covering in place;

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a finished tile;

Fig. 18 is an elevational View showing four tiles joined;

Fig. 19 illustrates an outside member; and

Fig. 20 illustrates a modified form of tile.

Inasmueh as the materials used for making the tile blanks are usuallymanufactured in large sheets and readily available as such, the firstoperations relate to conversion of these large sheets into smallerpieces which typically are squares and rectangles as these shapes fitthe usual wall and ceiling contours.

In the preferred method of making the tile blanks the large sheets arefirst cut into narrow strips of the length of the sheet and these areagain cut into shorter lengths, usually squares.

The machine of Figs. l and 2 has a saw table 20 of suitable size tosupport the sheet S and a guide 21, shown at the right. The sheet movesto the left, Fig. 2. vBelow the table are two power driven saws 22 and23, prefer-ably disposed at 45 to the plane of the table, one in frontof the other and adjusted higher than the other, and above the table isa third saw 24 adjusted to cut down to a depth approximately thatreached by the higher oblique saw. The saw 24 is preferably behind theother two.

The saw 22 makes an oblique saw cut 26 indicated in Figure 3. It extendspart way through the sheet S, for example to a depth of from the lowerface. The saw 23 makes an oblique cut just deep enough to intersect thecut 26 at about the middle of this cut and the severed material isremoved, so that the sheet now has, as shown in Figure 4, a squaregroove 27 and the upper part 2 of saw cut 26. The saw 24 cuts from abovea saw cut 28 of a depth to be about opposite the top of saw cut 26.These cuts are preferably made in this order. The sheet Patented Aug.12, 1958 3 S now has a narrow connecting Yportion. 29 between slots 26and 28.

The fibrous boards can readily be broken between these saw cuts so thatthe 'right hand edge of the left hand strip s has thetc'onfigurationshown in Figure 6 at 30 and the left hand edge of the right hand strip shas the configuration shown at 31. These are `shown at a larger scale inFigure 13. The former configuration includes a relatively wide deepbeveled surface 30a, a rearwardly facing surface 30b forming with 30a anacute angled nose 30C, and a rearwardly extending surface 30d formingwith 3017 an inside corner. The latter configuration (31) includes anarrow bevel 31a, a reverse bevel 31b, forming a right angled corner, aforwardly facing surface 31e and with a rearwardly 'extending surface31d forming a tiange 31e. K

The strip s' is shifted over to the guide and againlpassed through thesaw and the sawing repeated until the large board is reduced to narrowstrips having yconfigurations 30 and 31 so that in cross section theyappear as in Figures 7, 9, 10 and VV13 where the blanks, or finishedtile units, are shown. The strip s is similar edged, the guide 21 beingshifted to the proper position.

The strips (edged along both side edges) are now turned through 90 andpassed through the machine in the same manner so as to produce square orrectangular tile-blanks b as shown in Figure 11. The anges 31e, 30e areadjacent and nose-like edges 30C, 30e` 'are adjacent. In this way thesquare area of the rear surface of the blank is offset` from the squarearea of the front surface.

In'icarrying out the operations above set forth -fron'a sheet,'say 4 x8,one cancut thirty two blanks one-foot square in extreme dimension, butthose blanks will not, when laid edge to edge cover 32sq. ft.Theeffectivear'ea of each lblank is 1113/16 by 1119/16.

The method above described in detail is well suited for use upon theordinary soft wall boards, but not for use with plywood or lumber as itmay not break apart satisfactorily. If the configuration shown isdesired for such materials it can be had by using tools of appropriatecontour on blanks cut approximately to size. Any of the blanks may beused without covering if desired, as for example to provide accents.

To facilitate securement of sheet covering to the blank the blank isthen, as' shown in Figure 7, passed between two thin saws 35, 35 whichenter the edges of the blank just back of the depth of the bevels (atthe region `f the break) so as to cut away irregularities and cut narrowslots 36, 36 parallel with the front face of the blank, and about aquarter inch in depth in the material of the blank. These slots extendthe entire length of the side of the blank and preferably along all foursides. The saw cuts have rough walls as' indicated by the rough lines at36a, 36b, Figure l5.

Figure 8 shows a covering sheet 37 for use with a rectangular tile. Thesheet is square, with cut away eorners 38 and is of such size relativeto the tile blank B (shown in dotted lines in this figure) as to extendbeyond it at all four edges, but not at the corners, and leavesufficient material to pass surfaces 30h, 31h and have just enoughmaterial to form a doubled edge in the saw cuts 36. A very desirableform of covering material is twelve gage vinyl sheeting without clothbacking or the like, to allow for some stretching. It is thick enough tohave adequate strength, and flexible so as to be readily handled. It maybev made up in a wide variety of colors so as to provide aI finishedsurface which `is permanent, easily cleaned, and not likely tol beinjured.

Figure 9 illustr-ates the principal parts of a machine for assemblingthe tile units. For clearness much of the operating mechanism isomitted. The process can be carried out by hand. The machine has arecessed bed 40 which carries an upwardly biased plate 41`. A sheet 37of thecovering material is positioned face'down on 4 this plate 41,suitable guides (not shown) insuring the proper location. The blank B isthen placed face down on the sheet and similarly aligned. The presserelement 42 of the machine is then lowered as in Figure 10 and suitablyheld in position. This lowers the blank and covering into the recessedbed 40 which bends it upwardly as shown at the left of Figure 10 so thatits' edges are now above the level of the slots 36.

In the machine shown there are two rows of thin dulledged rollers 43mounted on a common carrier and normally spaced wider than the bed 40 ofthe machine and at an elevation to be opposite the saw cuts 36 in theblank, when the machine is closed as in Figures 10 and l2. In thisclosed position the edges of the covering sheet extend up 'past therollers. These rollers are mounted for longitudinal reciprocation asindicated by arrows 43a and for lateral reciprocation as indicated bythe arrows 43h. l

The rollers are reciprocated back and forth 'and pressed toward thecovering sheet to bring them to the dot and dash line position of Figure11 or the full line position 0f Figure 12. This operation has formed theextreme edge into a fold and forced the fold into the slots 36-36,opposite one another, as shown more clearly in Figures 13 and 16. Thesaw cuts 36 have rough sides, and as shown in Figure 15 are narrowerthan the thickness of a doubled fold of covering material. Thematerial'of the blank yields sufiiciently to allow the covering sheetand roller to enter, but so tightly grips the covering sheet and pressesthe faces together after the rollers are removed as to preventunintentional removal.

In a simple machine for making square tile, the tile blank with coveringattached along two opposite sides is removed from the machine, turnedthrough and the covering sheet similarly secured along the other twosides. Where manufacturing operations are carried out in a complexmachine the clamped assemblage may be subjected to another pair ofrollers or it may be shifted through 90 and treated by the same rollers.For nonstandard sizes a hand roller such as indicated at 44, Figure,14,may be used.

The completed tile units may then be shipped and handled much the sameas uncovered pieces of tile. The edges and corners are protected by thecovering. The other tiles are similarly treated with cement and forcedagainst the wall and the previously placed tile or tiles so that thefianges pass behind noses. When the tiles are thus assembled thecovering sheets are tightly engaged along the joint and deeply beveled,tight, overlapping joints are provided as shown in Figures 13 and 18.The tiles are self-leveling and aligning, but should there be shiftingalong the joint to open it up, the open joint would not be obvious.

If a tile is too large for a space, one can readily pull out thetucked-in edge, cut the blank with a knife, or other tool, trim offexcess covering sheet, pull it tightly over the rear surface and secureit in place by staples or tacks. The doubled edges are returned to theslots by a putty knife and the smaller tile secured in place. Insidecorners and fittings to moldings are readily made and the finished jobis free of visible means of tile support. The corner number 45, Figure19, made of narrow strips of material of any desired length properlyedged, and cemented or nailed together, and covered, is suitable foroutside corners.

Where tile of square edge is desired, ordinary precut tile, boards orthe like, such as shown at 50, Fig. 20, beveled if desired, are slottedasshown at 51. The covering material 52 is forced into the slots asabove described. This treatment is particularly well suited where tileof modular dimension are available or required.

It is obvious that theinvention may be embodied in many forms andconstructions, and carried out in various manners, and I wish it to beunderstood that while particular forms are shown various modificationsand changes are possible, and I do not limit myself in any way withrespect thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of manufacturing tile blanks out of a board-like materialwhich comprises making one cut from one face part way through the blank,making a second cut at right angles to the rst and cutting from the sameface only to the first cut, making a cut from the opposite facesubstantially opposite the line of entry of the rst cut into the sheetand to a depth insufficient to intersect the first cut, and breaking thesheet apart so that the separated blanks are of the length of the sheet,the blank to one side of the cuts having a narrow beveled portion, areversely beveled portion and a flange extending to an outside corner,and the blank to the other side having a deeper beveled edge and anoppositely facing shoulder extending to an inside corner.

2. The method of manufacturing tile blanks as claimed in claim 1,wherein the opposite edges of the blanks formed are also cut in the samemanner to produce along the said opposite edges like but oppositeconfigurations to those which were first produced.

3. The method of manufacturing tile blanks such as claimed in claim 2,wherein the blanks thus formed are successively cut in directions atright angles to the first said cuts to produce along edges at rightangles to the first edges, similar, oppositely disposed edges.

4. The method of cutting a rectangular sheet of wallboard, or the like,of a predetermined dimension and substantial thickness, into a pluralityof rectangular tile blanks having when assembled edge to edge an overalltransverse dimension slightly less to that of the original sheet, whichcomprises making in the material a plurality of pairs of longitudinal,parallel cuts, one cut of each pair reaching the other intermediate itsdepth, and opposite to the line of entry of said cuts and normal to theface of the tile a single series of second cuts parallel to the firstcuts and to a depth equal to the depth unsevered by the first cuts, andbreaking the material apart between the bottoms of the first and secondcuts to form strips of rectangular tile whose edges conform to the cutsand breaks. l

5. The method of cutting a rectangular sheet of wallboard, or the like,of a predetermined dimension and substantial thickness, into a pluralityof rectangular tile blanks having when assembled edge to edge and sideto side overall dimensions slightly less to those of the original sheet,which comprises making in the material a plurality of pairs oflongitudinal, parallel cuts angularly disposed relative to the plane ofone face, one cut of each pair reaching the others intermediate itsdepth, and opposite to the line of entry of said cuts, and normal to theface of the tile a single series of second cuts parallel to the rst andto a depth equal to the depth unsevered by the rst cuts, breaking thematerial apart between the bottom s of the cuts to form strips ofrectangular tile whose edges conform to the cuts and breaks, andthereafter similarly cutting the rectangular strips transversely to formeach strip into smaller tile blocks.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 367,675Shimer Aug. 2, 1887 1,757,017 Matovitz May 6, 1930 1,761,021 Nutt `Tune3, 1930 1,795,953 Johnson Mar. 10, 1931 1,986,770 Farley Ian. l, 19352,663,527 l)'oslyn a-.. -.r. y Dec. l2,2, 1953

